Portuguese ground handlers to walk out over late August weekend
Travellers heading to or from Portugal could face delays and disruption with a threat of strike action hanging over the late-August holiday weekend.
Ground handlers at several of Portugal’s main airports are poised to walk out as part of a national dispute over pay and working conditions.
Workers employed by SPdH (Groundforce) will strike over 31 August and 1 September, with the Portuguese Transport Workers’ Union (Sstamp) warning of “severe constraints” at major airports.
“If [the strike] were to take place, it would certainly cause severe constraints at national airports, particularly Porto and Lisbon, the effects of which are currently unpredictable,” said the union in a statement.
According to Portuguese press reports, the union has indicated there will be "numerous flight cancellations" and called on passengers to contact their airline for clarification.
Sstamp has, though, stressed it will work to ensure a "provision of minimum services essential to meeting social needs”, as per Portugal’s labour laws.
Earlier this month, easyJet was forced to cancel more than 200 flights to and from Portugal owing to a three-day strike by cabin crew, who are in dispute over working hours and insufficient staffing levels.
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